Reflection: LGBTQ rights in Japan

In this post, I’d like to talk about the LGBTQ situations in Japan, because it is my home country and future teaching context. In Japan, I think people show their sexual/gender identity through the use of language as well the behaviors (fashions, physical appearances, etc.). We have different ways of referring to ourselves associated with either men or women (i.e. Men usually refer to themselves as “ore” “boku” depending on the formality, whereas women usually refer to themselves as “watashi” “atashi.”). However, if you want to be seen as one of the LGBTQ people, you might refer to yourself by using a first-person pronoun that’s different from your assigned sex, or use a gender-neutral pronoun “jibun” (literally meaning “oneself”). Also, there are many expressions or sentence endings specific to men/women in Japanese (i.e. If you put “~dawa” at the end of a sentence, you sound feminine, whereas if you put “~dazo,” you sound masculine.), so LGBTQ people might use whatever expressions they are comfortable with, regardless of their sex. In addition to the linguistic features, I think people express their identity by their fashion, make-up, and hairstyle. For example, trans women might wear a skirt, make-up, and nails, while trans men might wear pants and have short hair.

Since I live in the US now, I’d like to compare the LGBT situations in Japan with the US situations. I assume the way of expressing one’s sexuality is mostly similar, but the degree of making it open or public is different. Here in the US, I feel people are much more open about their sexuality in their daily lives or even workplaces. I noticed that some of the friends and professors at MIIS revealed their gender identity or sexual orientation more casually in the early stages when I got to know them. I think in Japan, people are only willing to share their gender identity privately with someone close or only after they get to know the person well and trust each other.

Even though the awareness toward LGBTQ people has been raised recently in Japan, I still feel there’s a lot of social stigma against those people, especially among older generation. It is true that people are paying more attention and starting to recognize LGBTQ people nowadays, and the opportunity of hearing related discussions on media has definitely been increasing. Especially since Taiwan legalized same-sex marriages this May, I think the movement toward accepting same-sex marriages has been expanding at a local level in Japan. For example, many local governments (over 20 local governments as of 2019) have issued partnership certificates to same-sex couples, making it easier for them to receive certain benefits in housing contract or insurance plans, just like heterosexual couples.

However, I think there’s still a long way to go until Japan legalizes same-sex marriages. Sadly, some people still associate LGBTQ people with mental disorders and have negative images about them. For instance, some discriminatory words that describe LGBTQ people, such as “okama (= a man who dresses up like a woman)” and “homo (= gay man),” are still heard in daily conversations and treated as a joke. Even in educational settings like secondary schools, teachers tend to lack understanding toward LGBTQ and fail to hear those students’ voices (In 2016, the Japanese government issued guidelines about LGBTQ students for teachers, but it is up to individual teachers how to implement them in daily practices.). As depicted in the comic stories I used in my lesson plan, bullying of LGBTQ students is a serious issue across the nation.

As for how safe Japan is for LGBT people and students, I would say it’s far from being comfortable (in terms of many aspects above, like the discrimination, unequal access, bullying, etc.). One of my university friends from Japan is actually a gay person, and he decided to move to Canada because he felt he didn’t fit into Japanese society, which doesn’t allow same-sex marriages. Now, he seems to be enjoying his life with his boyfriend there much more than he used to in Japan.

I think it is important to be an ally to LGBT students in Japan, because students usually suffer from lack of support or understanding from people around them, especially their parents, teachers, and classmates. If we become an ally and take actions toward achieving equatable society for everyone, I think it will make a huge difference in the students’ lives. For example, people can participate in a pride parade and attend LGBTQ-related workshops. I feel it will be also helpful just to listen to the LGBTQ students’ voices and stop making discriminatory comments against them in our daily lives.

Mari Morooka

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